Thursday, August 30, 2012

You may have seen the map above showing where Republicans exist in New York City, presented by WNYC . The darker areas of the map show that in portions of Staten Island, southern Brooklyn and Queens, Republicans approach and, in some cases, surpass Democrats as the majority.

But you may not have noticed the imperfect but still somewhat disturbing similarity of the Republican map of New York City to the West Nile Virus mosquito map of New York City.

On this map, above, provided by the NYC Dept. of Health, the red areas show that in portions of Staten Island, southern Brooklyn and Queens, mosquitoes carrying deadly West Nile virus have recently been detected.

We are in no way suggesting any link between Republicans and West Nile Virus! A total of 1,590 cases of West Nile virus, including 66 deaths, were reported through late August in the U.S., according to Reuters.

All 48 contiguous states have reported cases of West Nile virus. But more than 70 percent of the human cases have been reported in just six states: Texas, South Dakota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Michigan. Oddly, these are all Republican -- or red -- states, except for Michigan, which is a mixed, or purple state.

No doubt the infected mosquitoes will eventually spread to every district and state in the country. There's no telling about Republicans, though some will say that they are spreading as well.

In either case, there is no treatment for infection, and no vaccine. The only preventive measure is to avoid being bitten.